China's Manufacturing Competitiveness Is Seen At Risk

Is China losing its luster as a location for low cost production? The answer may be yes, according to a recent survey by AmCham (the American Chamber of Commerce) Shanghai and Booz Allen Hamilton. China Manufacturing Competitiveness 2007-2008 found that 17% of its surveyed companies have plans to move manufacturing capacity to other countries.

Vietnam is a prime destination for many of those manufacturers, but an article in the April 2, 2008 Wall Street Journal reported 21,000 Vietnamese workers going on strike against a Taiwanese-owned factory seeking higher wages and better working conditions as that country's inflation rate hit 19% in March. This was an isolated incident but perhaps a harbinger of things to come.

Their frenetic pace of growth has led to inflation, labor shortages and upward wage pressure in developing countries of Asia that diminish their attraction as outsourcing destinations. The cheap labor bargain loses still more luster when you factor in the shrinking U.S. dollar (down 16% vs. the yuan over the past 18 months).

Finn Steps Aside At Warren Alloy; Fruci Replaces Him
Warren Alloy Valve & Fitting Co. announced that Leonard Fruci (right), formerly of Crane Energy Flow Solutions Group, has joined the company as its new president and CEO. Adam Finn (left), who has served as the president of the company since 1989, is transitioning away from day-to-day responsibilities. He will take on a strategic growth role as well as continue to serve on the board of directors. Fruci  has held many senior executive positions during his 28 years of experience in the global fluid handling market.

SSAB Sells IPSCO Tubulars To Evraz/TMK
SSAB has divested its IPSCO Tubulars operations to Evraz Group for $4.025 billion (U.S.) in cash.  IPSCO Tubulars was acquired as part of SSAB's acquisition of IPSCO in 2007 and had sales of $2.4 billion in 2007. Evraz then entered into back-to-back agreements with OAO TMK , Russia's leading tubular player, to sell certain of the acquired U.S. businesses for $1.2 billion. In addition, Evraz expects to sell the remaining U.S. business of IPSCO Tubulars to TMK for approximately $500 million in 2009.  The transactions are expected to close in the second quarter of 2008 and are subject to approvals from U.S. and Canadian regulatory authorities. The IPSCO brand is closely associated with the tubular business and is included in the transaction. The steel operations retained within SSAB will operate as a Division within SSAB. SSAB will retain the right to use the IPSCO brand during a transition period.

John Brennan Promoted At Curtiss-Wright
Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Corp . (CWFC) announced today that John Brennan, who currently heads up Valve Systems and Controls, has been named vice president and general manager of the company's Oil and Gas Systems Division. Brennan has an industrial PVF career that began in 1971 and includes stints as president of Crane Valves and Limitorque. In 1997, he left Limitorque to purchase VSC and become its president. In May 2007, VSC was purchased by CWFC.

Wilson Opens New Distribution Center
Houston-based industrial PVF giant Wilson has opened a new 450,000 sq. ft. distribution center featuring the combined inventory of five DCs while leveraging the efficiency of a single operation. It is situated in La Porte, TX, near the Port of Houston, and has over 90,000 product lines in inventory, including more than 160,000 tons of pipe.

Craig Wins F. W. Webb's Kartanos Award
F. W. Webb's 2008 Lothar Kartanos Memorial Sales Award was presented to Devon Craig, shown at left being congratulated by F. W. Webb's industrial sales head Ernie Coutermarsh. Craig was the first recipient of this new annual recognition named after the recently deceased Kartanos, who   represented Webb in the industrial marketplace for 25 years and whom Coutermarsh credited as "the driving force" behind F. W. Webb's success  in the industrial PVF business.

McJunkin Red Man Publishes PVF Outlook
McJunkin Red Man Corp. has published "Market Outlook 1st Half 2008," an online distillation of economic prospects for various PVF categories worldwide and in the U.S.

Hirsch Joins supplyForce 
Hirsch Pipe & Supply Co., Inc., headquartered in Van Nuys, CA and with 12 branch locations throughout the state, is a new PVF member of supplyForce. 

Ask The Right Questions For Sales Success

Supply House Times' columnist Rick Johnson has some penetrating insights about asking questions to get sales results in this article, titled "Sales Success & The Art of the Question." 

Extracting Heat From Asphalt

Anyone who's ever walked barefoot from a swimming pool to a parking lot on a sizzling summer day knows there's a lot of heat stored in the gooey black pavement. A Dutch company has decided to go after it.

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Valve Selection Handbook

Though there are only four basic types of valves, there is an enormous number of different kinds of valves within each category, each one used for a specific purpose. No other book on the market analyzes the use, construction, and selection of valves in such a comprehensive manner.

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PME's Hydronics Webinar Series Continues in 2008

This series of 90-minute Webinars presents the latest concepts for modern hydronic heating system design in both residential and commercial applications.  CEU/PDH Credit is available.

This year's Webinar topics include:

May 1

Active Solar Heating-New Opportunities For Hydronic Professionals

Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 1:00 pm ET

June 12 

Home Run Distribution Systems - An Outstanding Alternative to Metal Piping

Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 1:00 pm ET

Presented by:

John Siegenthaler, P.E. John is a licensed engineer with more than 28 years of experience in hydronic heating. He also is a writer, software developer and columnist for PM and PM Engineer magazines.

Register today at::http://webinar.pmengineer.com.  If you're busy that day, sign up anyway. You have 12 months to play back the scheduled broadcast any time you like.

Missed one of our 2007 MEC Webinars? No Problem! They are now available On-Demand! Visit PME's webinar archives  to view these and other Webinars.

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